Review Tales
Trusted Reviews and Author Features Since 2016
The Incredible Joy of Writing: 7 Minutes to Freedom by Natalya Androsova
To everyone who has ever questioned their love of writing…
May you lose the doubt and let your soul fly!
The above is the dedication from 7 Minutes to Freedom. This is the main message of the book and of my coaching practice.
Read MoreWhere Silence Ends by Angela Ruiz and Mary Ruiz (Book Review #917)
Where silence ends is a beautiful story about how a young girl finally breaks silence over all the abuse and trauma she has gone through. Reading through four generations of Mexican American culture, family drama, and abuse, this memoir truly advocates for those who endure sexual abuse and how hard it is to speak up and heal.
Read MoreWrite what you know: the naked author by Clare Scopes
The advice is to write what you know. I wrote a novel about a twenty-something-year-old woman in 1938 America struggling to become an animator in a man’s world. But do I know enough to write convincingly?
I’m Australian. Born in 1967. And not an animator. But on the other hand, I’m a woman who’s experienced sexism, I’m a visual artist, and I’ve been involved in political and social movements for the betterment of society. So, thematically, what I know is reflected in the book.
Read MoreThe Last Alias by Ste7en Foster (Book Review #914)
The last alias is a memoir. It is a collective story about a man with many faces. The self-discovery story is filled with multiple personalities that, each to their own, has a journey and message to give. Although it is all one protagonist, it isn’t with one identity. Who is Steven Foster?
Read MoreTHE BIRD THAT SANG IN COLOR by Grace Mattioli (Book Review #912)
The bird that sang in color is the story of Donna. She has a particular image of what a perfect life looks like and imposes this thought on her brother Vincent. As she works hard to provide these things, she fails, and that guilt trips her until she finds a book of sketches he’s made of his life, allowing her to discover what truly makes him happy.
Read MoreReal Life: We breathe, We sleep, We eat … And In-between, We Live by Jill Reid (Book Review #913)
Real-life is a self-help book about the possibility of making a fresh start in life and creating another chance for being happy and content in life. It is easy to get caught up in the routine of things, and when things fall apart, we tend to forget the initial idea we had in wanting to be peaceful and remain balanced.
Read MoreTHE BIRD THAT SANG IN COLOR by Grace Mattioli
The Bird that Sang in Color is the story of a woman who creates the life she always wanted and then leaves it behind when she discovers the secret to living free. Donna, in her early teens, decides that having a fulfilling life is contingent upon having a family, a nice house, and a dignified career. She decides this for her and her older brother, Vincent, an artistic type who she doesn’t perceive as someone capable of getting these things on his own. As she goes about acquiring these things through the course of her lifetime, he remains single, childless, working low-paid jobs, and subsisting in cramped apartments or boarding homes. She harbors guilt for her supposed failure to improve his life until she finds a book of sketches he’d made of his life which allows her to discover his internal joy and prompts her own journey of living authentically.
Read MoreBetty P. Notzon
My love of words started with President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Watching his speeches on TV as a little girl, I was bowled over by the big words he used. Words, I suspect, like deficit, congressional inquiry, and fiscal responsibility, words still being heard in D.C . . . . I wanted to be able to use big words too, though not necessarily those. Sure, sure, my mother reading to me as a child deserves some credit. But, really, it all started with Ike.
Read MoreOut of the London Mist by Lyssa Medana (Book Review #911)
Out of the London mist is a steampunk tale about John Farnley, an aether pilot who travels back to his family home when he hears that his brother, Lord Nicholas Farnley, is murdered. He attempts to take over the family business and financial matters as Nicholas’ wife, Clara, grieves her loss. By inheriting the title, John once rejected, he now has his hands full.
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